Decoding

China Pride

Artwork by Xiao Yu

The project was initiated due to the rising 'China Pride' and the growing difficulties western brands were facing to connect with Chinese audiences in a 'Chinese' way. This problem requires us to identify the enduring beliefs that keep influencing how Chinese people think and behave, as well as aesthetic approaches that define beauty in the Chinese eye.

We assembled a knowledge team spanning 6 disciplines - philosophy, sociology, literature, history, aesthetics and technology and worked together for nearly 2 months. A thorough literary review of over 200 books and articles was conducted to uncover the principal differences between China and the West. Meanwhile, we interviewed experts and professors from a wide range of fields to explore how to apply the Chinese way in a modern context. Furthermore, we carried out semiotics analysis on over 300 campaigns, activations and artworks that have leveraged 'China Pride' to identify success factors in the commercial world.

We are lucky to have patient and collaborative clients to work closely with us throughout. We came up with an easy-to-use framework consisting of 6 key beliefs and aesthetic approaches accompanied with rich commercial and art examples. The study will act as the compass for Estee Lauder to redefine its China Pride strategy.